A lesson for Ohio's public servants re: Hite and Jones and a previous attempt to fleece Ohio's retirement systems and to force them into divestiture

From John Curry, March 5, 2011

Active educators and Ohio public servants

Several years ago, Cliff Hite and his cronies (including Shannon Jones) in the Ohio House of Representatives attempted to pass a bill (House Bill 151) to force Ohio retirement systems to divest of all of their holdings of certain companies (Toyota and Coca Cola and others) who did business with Iran and Sudan.

The bill failed, in part because this bill only applied to Ohio's retirement system holdings and not banks, brokerage houses or individual stock holders. That's kind of selective and discriminatory, isn't it?

The letter below was written to Cliff Hite (at that time a State Representative) to complain about this selective and discriminatory action by an STRS benefits recipient and CORE (Concerned Ohio Retired Educators) member, Jim Kimmel (now deceased). Public servants, neither Cliff Hite nor Shannon Jones has worked for your best interests in the past and certainly isn't doing so now.

John Curry

a Proud CORE member

a retired Ohio public school educator

P.S. Following Jim Kimmel's letter below to Cliff Hite is the introduction to former House Bill 151 ( introduced back in 2007), a list of its sponsors and a link to the entire bill for those who wish to research it.

CORE's Jim Kimmel to House Rep. Cliff Hite (District 76) HB 151

Jim Kimmel to Representative Cliff Hite, August 27, 2007
Subject: HB 151

Mr. Hite:

Why in the world would you promote and sponsor HB151 concerning divestment of STRS and other public retirement finds? You as a retired STRS beneficiary should see the danger more than most. Or maybe you do not need the money or health care from STRS. Apparently not.Then send it to me because if this goes through the system will be weakened and we (who don't have other means) will suffer a great deal. STRS money is not the state's to play political football with- it is money owned by the retirees.

151 will not work - the terrorists will just laugh, especially because everyone else but the retirement systems will still be able to buy those stocks. UNFAIR ! As long as we buy oil from that area of the world terrorists will have plenty of money.

151 is unconstitutional because states cannot conduct their own foreign policy. That is for Washington to do- NOT COLUMBUS !

It will enrich the brokers and the bankers. UNFAIR AND YOU KNOW IT.

Please do not vote for this bill. It will affect people all over this state - many of them your fellow teachers, active and retired. As well as police, firefighters, state patrol and many more. Do you drive a Toyota ? better get rid of it fast! Oh, and don't buy a Coke for lunch today, either. That would be WRONG. Oh, I forgot- STRS can't buy Cokes but you can. This is the most ridiculous attempt to do the wrong thing and call it "right" and patriotic" that I have ever seen in my 66 years on this earth!!

And we all know how the investment industry will profit from 151. It will cost the retirement systems millions to transfer out the "bad" stocks and buy equivalent "good" stocks to replace them. And it is so blatant it insults my intelligence.

James O. Kimmel
STRS Retiree
Ohio Air National Guard 1963-69
Proud CORE Member

http://www.legislature.state.oh.us/bills.cfm?ID=127_HB_151

127th General Assembly
Regular Session
2007-2008
Sub. H. B. No. 151

Representatives Mandel, Jones

Cosponsors: Representatives Adams, Aslanides, Barrett, Brinkman, Bubp, Budish, Carmichael, Collier, Combs, DeGeeter, Dodd, Dolan, Flowers, Gibbs, Goyal, Hite, Latta, Mallory, McGregor, J., Patton, Peterson, Schindel, Setzer, Uecker, Wagner, Wagoner, Webster, Wolpert, Zehringer

A BILL

To amend sections 135.143, 148.04, 3305.01, 3305.02, and 3334.02 and to enact sections 137.01 to 137.09 of the Revised Code to specify procedures for divesting investments a public investor holds in directly held publicly traded companies conducting specified types of business in the Islamic Republic of Iran and the Republic of the Sudan and to prohibit public investors from investing in such a company and to authorize the Ohio public deferred compensation board, the alternative retirement program, and the Ohio college savings program to offer a terror-free investment option.